Jesus said He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. That no man or woman can come to the father unless it is through him. Therefore, Jesus is the only way for true salvation to God the Father. As you read the story about the woman at the well with Jesus - a divine appointment found in John 4, we see that Jesus is leading her to the truth and that The Truth will set her free. Notice that she doesn’t experience true freedom from her past and present sins. When she finally tells Jesus the whole truth and nothing but the truth, Jesus (The Truth) sets her free. When we study scripture, we have to make sure that we understand the true exegesis of the text, that is, the most accurate interpretation of a passage, achieved by carefully analyzing the text within its historical and literary context, aiming to understand the original intended meaning by the author, rather than imposing personal interpretations or biases on the text. The other important point of the exegesis is to understand the setting of the text, that is, is it for that historical moment or is it intended for the universal body of believers? In this case, it is both. Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman, a jew, who is talking to a Samaritan at a public well - unheard of! Yet, Jesus engages us right where we are at. He doesn’t say to the woman or us, get yourself and your life cleaned up and when you look better and feel better and are better then I will save you, no, he meets her (and us) right where we are and offers us the spring of water welling up to eternal life - Jesus is the Way! Jesus tells the woman that Salvation is from the Jews, yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24.
Let’s look at Jesus’ testimony about himself:
John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 8:31b-32, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
What more do we need as brothers and sisters in Christ, but to hear from the whole Truth, the only Way and the Life that sets us free - Jesus is the only way.
He asks each of us to tell him the truth, wherever we are at in our lives. Whether we are in the thick of it (heaped in sin and shame and fear and guilt) or whether we are in a desert place (exhausted and tired and desperate) or whether we are climbing closer to Him - we all need to be honest and truthful with the Great I Am - the one who will set us free.
Discipleship is not a program. It is not a subscription-based method that I have to pay thousands of dollars to get the secret sauce and be in a relationship with the Holy of Holies. Discipleship is a relationship. For me to be serious about God’s truth in my life, then we have to begin by telling God the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Once we take that step, he meets us at that very place and offers us complete freedom to be his adopted sons and daughters.
Let me ask you this, what is holding you back? The unholy trinity of fear, shame, and guilt? Why? God has plans for every one of us. Plans not to harm us. Plans to give us the abundant life that scripture promises us. Are you willing to be set completely free? Tell God the truth today!
As a deer pants
Longing for God
Psalm 42, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so I long for you, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long, people say to me, “Where is your God?”. I remember this as I pour out my heart: how I walked with many, leading the festive procession to the house of God with joyful and thankful shouts. Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God. “
As we walk through the Christian life, a disciple's life, we may come to realize that there are different seasons in each other’s lives. Times of plenty and times of need. Times of gain and times of loss. Time for peace and times of war. Times of sadness and times of gladness. Wherever you are, in your walk, do not let any one minimize where you are in your journey. That is, to say, don’t let any one disgard you or disrespect your opinion. However, make sure that you have true biblical and authentic community around you as to not let those season create in you - a bitter heart or bitterness of the soul.
How can we get to a place where even in the valleys and desert places we choose joy?
Philippians 4:4: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice"
James 1:2: "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds"
Romans 12:12: "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer"
John 16:24: "Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full"
Proverbs 17:22: "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones"
The Bible says that joy is a fruit of the Spirit that comes from faith and obedience. It's a natural part of the Christian faith and is different from earthly pleasures. Joy is meant to be shared with others.
Here are some other things the Bible says about joy:
The devil may tempt you to choose sin instead of joy.
You can fight back against negative thoughts by hiding God's Word in your heart.
You can choose to dwell on what is good in a person or situation, even in tragedy.
Christians are called to rejoice even through painful circumstances.
Jesus is an example of rejoicing in the midst of bad circumstances.
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